Process of curing sweet potatoes.



P. T. PARKER. 'Plmcsss 0F GURING SWEET PoTAToBs. APPLICATION FILED SEYT. 17, 1912.

Patented Jan 28, 1913.

p* 1 v m am @n 2. u? g@ @nifl/ aww/Moz Spectcation of Letters Patent.

y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

Application led September 17, 1912. Serial No. 720,889.

To all whom it may concern.'

IBe it known that I, PnInLir T. PARKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mc- Kenzie, in thccounty' of Butler and State of Alabama, have invented new and useful Improveniente in Processes of Curing Sweet otatoes, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to a process of curing sweet potatoes, the object of the invention being to provide a process of treatment g whereby the potatoes may be cured and reni dered capable of resisting frost and of bein kept in perfect condition for a long eri without in any manner eliminating tie saccharine constituents of the potatoes or impairing their taste or flavor but on the contrary with the result of improving their texture and edible qualities.

A further object of the invention is to provide a process of treatment whereby potatoes partially frosted before being harvested or bruised or otherwise injured may be cured and preserved and decay arrested.

In the accompanying drawing, showin a form of building or inclosure preferaly employed in carrying out the rocess,-Fig ure 1 is a perspective view of) the building or inclosure, and Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same.

As shown in the drawing, the building or inclosure l is rovided with a storage com artment 2 an a curing compartment 3, the oor 4 of the compartment 2 preferably bein arranged below the level of the floor 5 l of t e compartment 8. In practice the building or inclosure may be su ported l u on a suitable foundation so that t e base l i o the com artment 2 lies below the level of 40, the groun surface, while the floor 5 of the compartment 8 is arran d substantiall leve with the ground sur ace. The buil ing is constructed'of any suitable material or in an suitable manner. to exclude-mois- 415iture-an maintain a uniform temperature therein,

through one or more doors communicating l direc y with the compartment 3, which in l practiceis arranged to face the sun so that when the doors are o n' the said compartmentv will be'exposee for the admission to i a maximum degree of air and sunlight. i The potatoes to be cured are laid in a pile ;or heap upon the floor 5, and at sunriseeach l day the doors'6 are opened to allow the sun land'air to have free access to the potatoes.

and access" thereto is afforded At ni htfall, or when it rains during the day, t e doors are closed to prevent chilling of the potatoes or their absorption of moisture and to maintain them at a uniform temperature. When the building or inclosure is sealed by the closing of the doors, the temperature at which the potatoes are kept causes them to sweat or exude a portion of their moisture, which, when the otatoes are next exposed to air and sunlig t, is evaporated. The steps of successively sealing the potatoes within an inclosure to protect and cause them to sweat, and of exposing them to air and sunlight for the purpose of eva rating the moisture, are carried out until alltlie moisture in the potatoes is eliminated, which may be determined by the absence of sweat upon the skins of the potatoes after they havo been confined for a predetermined period, whereupoii the potatoes may be stored in the compartment 2 or in any other suitable storage receptacle for future use or sale.

In carrying on the process, the potatoes are for convenience sealed during the night and exposed during the day, but it will of course be understood that, as the gradual elimination of the moisture from the pota-.

toes is important, the doors may be left partially open during the night or partially closed during the day to prevent excessive sweating or evaporation, care being taken to bring the moisture uniformly to the sur-v face of the vegetable and in such quantity as to be evaporated upon the subsequent exposure of the potatoes to air and sunlight, thus obviating all liability of excessive or imperfect drying out of the moisture, or the external presence of sufficient moisture liable to cause rot. In good weather, the process of treatment requires on an average about fifteen days.

It has been found that through this process of sweating the potatoes gradually and evaporating the moisture by air and sunshine between successive stages of the sweatin action, the moisture is gradually drawn rom the body of the vegetable to the surface and finally eliminated. In its flow to the surface, the moisture which carries the saccharine matter with it, uniformly distributes the latter throughout the body of the vegetable until finally, at the last stage of treatment, a residual amount of the moisture is left present with enough saccharine matter to form a gummy mass which fills and seals the porcs of the skin against the access of moisture, thus placing,r the potato in a condition for preservation for an indefinite period without deterioration. This mode of-treatment requires the use of air and sunshine, and the periodical sweating of the vegetable to a slight extent, as otherwise the vegetable is liable to be dried too rapidly, with a. consequent expulsion of a portion of itssaccharine matter and consequentdeterioration of quality, or to be unevenly or imperfectly dried so that the vegetable--isliable to rot or its keeping and edible'qualities are otherwise impaired. Sweet potatoes treated according to the present prooe have been preserved without deterioration of any character for a period of a year, 'and-'it has been determined that the texture of the body of the vegetable is considerably improved and its flavor and taste enhknced, due probably to a chemical change which ensues whereby the `hard fibrous constituents are softened and a greater delicacy of texture secured. Practical experiments have shown that these results cannot be obtained by any process of treatment in which the vegetable is subjected to artificial heat or to constant exposure in the sun and air.

Potatoes thus treated are not affected by bitten before harvesting or bruised on otherwise injured.

I claim 1.k The herein described process of curing; sweet potatoes, which consists in successivelyY confnmg and sweating the potatoes and exposing the same, between such sweatingr periods, to sunshine and air to evaporate the exuded moisture.

2. The herein described method of curing sweet potatoes, which consists in confining,r a body of potatoes in an inclosure capable of being` sealed or of being opened to Vair and sunshine, sealing.;` said inclosure periodically to sweat the potatoes, opening said compartment after each sweating action to expose the potatoes to air and sunshine for evaporation of the moisture, and alternately carrying out such steps until the potatoes cease to sweat.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PHILLIP T. PARKER.

Witnesses:

E. A. BUNonD, E. D. EsPnY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for tive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

l l Washington, D. C. 

